I Am Your Natural Enemy

The old man took a deep breath, watching as the cigarette stuck in the ground burned out rapidly.

”My time was up. I don’t blame anyone. Besides, I also wanted to save this winery.”

”You died in a pool of wine, ruining the winery’s business, all to save the winery? Was it to prevent the wine here from being sold?”

”That’s right. There was something wrong with that entire batch of wine. After I brewed it, I just tasted a sip, and I knew something was off.”

Wen Yan’s face showed realization. ”Was it to protect that young boss?”

The old man sighed deeply. ”I’ve worked here for decades; my whole life has been spent here. That kid went away for school and only came back this year to take over. Our regular grain supplier’s land was flooded this year, so we had to source grains from somewhere else. Who would have thought? The grains from that new supplier seemed fine on the surface, and they even had inspection reports. But in reality, they had major problems.”

”The young boss is naive. He’s earnest and follows procedures, but it’s too easy for those old hands to deceive him.”

”It’s my fault too. I only checked a portion of the grains, not realizing that the only good part was the one I had examined. He still has no idea he’s been scammed.”

”So, you found an excuse to destroy all the unsold stock and recall everything that had just been sold? All to protect the young boss? There was no need for that, was there?”

”I told you, my time was up. It just happened to coincide.”

”Because you were about to officially transition into a Brewer, right?”

The old man suddenly turned to glance at Wen Yan, then his face showed realization. ”It seems you know everything. This has nothing to do with the young boss; I brewed the wine. What does that kid know?”

Wen Yan smiled. ”I said, if it were about arresting someone, I wouldn’t be the one to come. I’m here for something else. Old Man, since you said you could tell there was a problem with the wine from just one sip, then I want that batch you sold. Can you brew it again?”

”What are you going to do with it? Drink too much of that wine, and it can kill you,” the old man said, suddenly vigilant.

”I already said, it’s a gift for someone, someone who enjoys this particular taste.”

”It really can kill.”

”Old Man, you drink it every day, don’t you? Are you alright? I never said the one drinking this wine is human. Just tell me, can you brew it again or not? Preferably even stronger than the original.”

The old man, holding an enamel mug, frowned. He had never heard such a request before. By now, he understood that the intended drinker of this wine wasn’t human. He pondered for a moment, his expression turning solemn.

Truth be told, if it were just normal brewing, he wouldn’t be afraid of anything, as that all follows standard procedure. But brewing that problematic wine again, and ensuring it was identical, was genuinely challenging.

”Old Man, can you take this job? If you can, I’ll buy out your winery’s entire normal production. You won’t have to sell to anyone else in the future, and you won’t have to worry about any more problems.”

”Are you serious?”

”Would I come here this early in the morning just to joke around?”

”I’ll try, but I can’t guarantee success.”

”Old Man, broaden your horizons. What era are we in now? It’s not just humans who drink wine. And currently, there’s truly no one specializing in brewing for other non-human Different Races.”

Wen Yan managed to talk the old man around. When the Sun rose and light began to shine through, the old man returned to the winery.

Wen Yan took out his phone and did some checking. He found that the business providing raw materials to this winery this year was registered in Central Plains County. Then he discovered that the company had already been dissolved. The company’s boss had died over a month ago.

Continuing his search, he found that this person had been an ordinary laborer for over thirty years. This year, after a flood in his area, he suddenly began to prosper, quickly registering more than a dozen companies. His businesses spanned several industries, from grain procurement and sales to an MCN Company.

Of these, only one MCN Company remained active. It incubated and trained various internet celebrities, covering everything from live streaming and video production to special effects.

Wen Yan looked carefully and keenly observed something: this company hadn’t faced a single risk incident. No one had sued them, nor had there been any arbitration cases against them. The company had several somewhat famous internet celebrities, including one whose videos Wen Yan had seen before; they were quite skilled. There were also more than a hundred less famous internet celebrities, each with tens of thousands of followers, covering various genres.

The current controller had only bought the company last month. This person, who had been an ordinary laborer for over thirty years, had suddenly become wealthy this year. According to records, the process of him becoming rich seemed to have no issues.

Although the records showed no issues, Wen Yan noted that this man had also become wealthy this year. It was during the month-plus that Wen Yan had spent in the Netherworld that this man had suddenly started seizing opportunities and making money.

Wen Yan opened a video app and randomly searched for two minor internet celebrities. One reviewed food, and the other sang and danced. They seemed fine, and everything looked normal.

Continuing his search, he found another with only a few thousand followers. Upon viewing, he saw the person’s video was about travel, similar to the popular camping videos from before. If no one had been shown in the video, everything would have seemed quite standard. But when the person appeared on screen and started introducing a place, that strange, stiff feeling, like a novice awkwardly reading an advertisement, hit him full force.

”Sisters, I’ve tried it myself! This place isn’t crowded yet. If you want to come, do it quickly. Once it becomes a hotspot, it’ll be overrun! I’m deleting this video tomorrow; I don’t want this hidden gem of a camping spot to become too well-known.”

Wen Yan watched the video over and over again, his expression gradually becoming grave. He finally remembered where he had encountered this familiar, eerie feeling.

Back when Wang Xueqi was still a Water Ghost, she had entered the Water Ghost Domain through a short video. At that time, the feeling Wang Xueqi gave off in that video was just like what he was seeing in this current one.